dispatcher communication

Gentlemen: Do any of you experts know how the dispatcher relayed to train crews that they were to call him before radio. I assume that there was some sort of call light at a signal location that had a phone. I know that a "call on" was when the train crew "called on" the dispatcher for a "restricted" aspect. Thanks, John Edwards

Answers

Gentlemen,
While interviewing Mr. Vance Peacock and Mr. Don Rountree last year
for the "Dispatchers" article in Lines South, Mr. Peacock
mentioned "call lights" for just this situation. Of course, this was
only after CTC was installed, but on some SAL routes that goes all
the way back to 1940. He mentioned that he had a row of call lights
on his CTC board underneath each end of each siding, and if he wanted
to talk to the train crews he would flip the switch and a white light
would illuminate on a signal box at the appropriate end of a siding,
or anywhere along the line that a call light was installed. When CTC
was installed there were no train radios--realistically speaking--so
the call lights were very important for initiatingg communications.
Harry Bundy's right about station operators and agents reporting
the passing of trains in the pre-CTC days, and they reported passing
of all trains to the DS by either telephone or telegraph. In most
cases, when a train was ordered to take a siding without an operator
or an agent (or if the station or position was eliminated), then
phone boxes or booths were providedat each end of a siding so the
crew could call in when established in the siding. In "dark"
territory" trains ran by the timetable, and the timetable was changed
through the use of train orders. Remember, there were not always
signals at places required to call in, such as sidings or junctions
(excluding crossings at grade). This is especially true of most pre-
WWII lines on both the SAL and ACL. Therefore, phone boxes, phone
booths, operators, tower operators, agent, etc. were required out on
the road to report the passing of trains to the DS.
We are used to seeing miles and miles of modern mainline
railroad today that are heavily used but totally uninhabited. It
wasn't that way 50 years ago--there were lots people everywhere along
the SAL and ACL line, even manning the most remote places, to keep
trains running on time and the DS informed. It was a different way of
railroading but just as effective. Hope this helps!

In CTC territory, it was possible to set a controlled signal
at STOP and illuminate the signal maintainer's light on an
adjacent relay case to get a train crew to the dispatcher's phone.

In other than CTC territory, contacting a train crew before radio
could be a problem. Dispatchers relied on operators, but if
between open offices, contacting a crew could be a problem.
Although rare in actuality, a dispatcher might uncover a "lap
of authority" -- a sequence of events (or non-events) that allows
two opposing trains rights to the same section of track. This
usually ends in a head-end collision. The dispatcher may have no
method of intercepting either of the trains, but can only wait for the
inevitable phone call. A dispatcher on the Chesapeake Western
detected that a "lap of authority" existed, left his office,
and drove by automobile in an attempt to avoid a head-end collision.
At the investigation, the dispatcher noted that his duties frequently
required him to leave the dispatch center and that his sister, a
stenographer, then assumed his duties as dispatcher.